More than anything, 2012 has been a year of “firsts” for the Disney Cruise Line.

It started back on Feb. 28, when the Disney Fantasy — still awash with that “new boat” smell — became the first DCL vessel to sail into New York Harbor.

Then, on March 1, the massive ocean liner was the first Disney ship to be christened in New York City [the Magic, Wonder and Dream all were christened in Port Canaveral, Fla.] in a spectacular nighttime celebration.

On May 25, the Disney Magic began its first-ever season sailing out of New York City, offering three itineraries — eight-night cruises to the Bahamas, with stops at Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral (including the opportunity to visit Walt Disney World for a day); five-night trips to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada —yet another first — as well as two-night cruises to nowhere.

Also in May, the Disney Wonder made its initial visit to Hawaii during a 14-night cruise. The highlight for many was the port call in Honolulu, where guests were able to check out Aulani, Disney Vacation Club’s newest resort.

For Hawaiian tourism officials, the fact that the Wonder dropped off 2,700 passengers for a day was reason enough to get excited; officials estimate that just one day in port adds $250,000 into the local economy.

Disney Cruise LineThe Disney Wonder scored another DCL first during the spring with its inaugural visit to Hawaii.

The Wonder is due to return to Hawaii in mid-October. In the meantime, the ship has been sailing up and down the Pacific Coast, heading to several popular ports of call in Alaska and Canada.

The Wonder is scheduled to head to south Florida for — you guessed it — another Disney Cruise Line first: Sailings out of Miami.

“South Florida is really excited, as you can imagine,” said Jason Lasecki, public relations director for Disney Cruise Line, in a wide-ranging interview. “That will give us three ships [the Wonder, Dream and Fantasy] sailing out of Florida.”

Not to be outdone, the Disney Magic will be heading to Galveston, Texas, in the fall for DCL’s inaugural sailings from that port.

“The Fantasy [which has been in service just five months] is off to a great start. We’re getting great guest response for the on-board amenities.

“The adjustments that we made to the Fantasy seem to be working really well. The Animation Magic Show is a huge success in Animator’s Palate. That show is blowing people away. I can’t say enough great things about how the Disney Fantasy is progressing.

“She’ll continue to do the seven-nighters, alternating between the Eastern and Western Caribbean, through next year. That ship has pretty much set into its pattern and is doing really well.”

“The same can be said about the Disney Dream; the Dream is lights out on the three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas.

“It’s still getting tremendous guest response.”

One of the Dream’s featured itineraries is its “double dip” — not one, but two visits to Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas.

Like the Fantasy, the Dream is home to the innovative AquaDuck water coaster.

The Disney WONDER

“We’ve got these Pixar cruises coming up on the Wonder [Sept. 16, Sept. 23, Sept. 30 and Oct. 7 from the Port of Los Angeles] which is the first time we’ve ever done what I would consider a fully themed cruise or series of cruises, because the extent of Pixar experiences on the ship is going to be pretty significant,” Lasecki beamed.

Associated PressJohn Lasseter is expected to sail on one of the Disney Wonder's Pixar-themed cruises this fall.

“They’re looking at bringing the whole Pixar art exhibit on board the ship. This is something that’s taken a large footprint at most galleries around the world. What they’re looking to put up on the ship is pretty immense.

“We’re still working on where to put it on the ship because it’s such a big footprint. It will probably bleed into a couple different venues. Some of it may be end up in the hallways that you just kind of walk through and it’s on display. Some of it will be in the Promenade Lounge, some of it might be in Studio Sea — like I said, it’s a big quantity of artwork that they’re bringing on board, so that’s something that we’re really excited about.”

Guests will be able to enjoy the entire Pixar library of films while onboard, including a selection of animated shorts. The voyages coincide with the theatrical premiere of “Finding Nemo 3D,” which guests can view at either of the two theaters equipped with state-of-the-art Dolby 3D projection systems. And more than a dozen Pixar characters will meet with and greet guests throughout the cruise, including Mr. Incredible, Remy, Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear.

“We’ve got Pixar directors, producers, filmmakers, artists,” Lasecki added. “John Lasseter is actually sailing on one of the cruises. He hasn’t determined which one yet, but he has agreed to sail as part of this series of Pixar cruises. We’ve got some high-caliber talent from Pixar coming on to give presentations and tell the backstory of not only films that have already been released, but they’re gonna give sneak peeks of what’s to come, which is really exciting.

“And the cool thing is the ship actually stops in San Francisco, and one of the Port Adventures that we’re doing for guests is to actually go to the Lasseter Family Winery. This is a winery that isn’t open to the public — you can’t just roll up on the Lasseter Winery and say, ‘I want to do a wine tasting,’ or something like that.

“This is a really special experience ... our guests will actually be taken to the Lasseter family summer retreat on the property. So it’s going to be a spectacular experience for guests to go and spend the day. Nancy, John’s wife, will be part of all of them, so it’s gonna be really, really cool.”

The Disney MAGIC

“You know, it’s funny, because when we think about what is making news right now within Disney Cruise Line — sure, we had the big launches of the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy — but right now a lot of the attention is focused on the Magic and the Wonder.”

Disney Cruise LineThe Disney Magic departs from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal during its 2012 New York season.

The Magic’s New York City season “has been going great. We’re really happy with the way things are going in New York.

“I have to say that the thing that may have surprised us the most were the two-night sailings. I can’t even stress how popular they were — they were extremely popular. It’s such a great site to see the ship sailing down the Hudson River with Manhattan as a backdrop, then the Statue of Liberty ... it’s just beautiful.

“We had some fun going into New York with the Magic [a giant Disney + NYC = Magic sign was placed on the stern of the ship] and we’ll be having more fun going into Texas with some kind of visual overlay on the ship.

“We’ve got a new idea which should be pretty cute.”

The Magic, which sailed its maiden voyage in 1998, is due to be dry-docked early next year for standard maintenance ... and then some. Dry-docking is usually a 2-2½-week process, but Lasecki said the down time this time around may last longer.

Guests aboard the Disney Magic received a special Mickey hand celebrating the ship's first-ever port calls to Halifax and New Brunswick in Canada.

“We’re expecting it’s going to be really extensive. We have seen some things on the Dream and the Fantasy that have worked really well, so we’re looking at ways to potentially incorporate that into the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.

“As we said with the Disney Fantasy, we didn’t want to create a replica of the Disney Dream, we wanted each ship to have its own unique identity and its own unique feel.

“We do have that currently with the Magic and the Wonder and we want to keep it that way. We don’t want the Magic and the Wonder to become kind of mini-Dreams and mini-Fantasys, because that’s not what we want to do.